Efren Cruz

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Charge:	Second Degree Murder
Sentence:	41 years to life
Years Imprisoned:	4
Year Crime:	1997
Year Convicted:	1997
Year Cleared:	2001
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	California
County or Region of Crime:	Santa Barbara
City of Crime:	Santa Barbara
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Efren Cruz was wrongly convicted of a January 26, 1997 murder in Santa Barbara, California. Cruz' conviction was vacated in October 2001 based on the new evidence of an Oxnard gang members secretly tape-recorded confession in August 2000 he fired the shots that killed the man in downtown Santa Barbara. Cruz filed a motion for a new trial based on the new evidence, and after an 18-day hearing Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Frank Ochoa ruled in October 2001 that Cruz proved "beyond a preponderance of the substantial credible evidence that Gerardo Reyes was the shooter." The Santa Barabara County DA's Office filed a motion on Oct. 22, 2001 to dismiss the murder charge, which Judge Ochoa granted. On Oct 24, 2001 Judge Ochoa issued an order the Cruz' retrial was barred by double jeopardy. The DA's Office appealed Judge Ochoa's Order barring Cruz' retrial. On January 2, 2003 the California Court of Appeals ruled that Judge Ochoa had overstepped his authority in barring a retrial, clarifying that it was for the prosecution to determine if there sufficient evidence to retry Cruz after his habeas petition had been granted. See, 'IN RE: Efren CRUZ, 129 Cal.Rptr.2d 31, 104 Cal.App.4th 1339 (CA Ct of Appeal, 2nd Dist., Div 6), 1-2-2003. After Cruz was released he filed a $120 million federal civil rights lawsuit in Dec 2001 against the Santa Barbara County DA's Office and Santa Barbara police officers involved in his prosecution. Cruz' lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge who ruled that the prosecution's failure to disclose exculpatory evidence did not prejudice him."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	Efren Cruz' conviction was vacated in October 2001 based on the new evidence of an Oxnard gang members tape-recorded confession he fired the shots that killed the man in downtown Santa Barbara.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	21
Age When Released:	25
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Hispanic
Information Source 1:	"Man Wrongly Convicted of Murder Sues Prosecutors, by Tracy Wilson, Los Angeles Times, December 13, 2001, B3"
Information Location 1:	http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Parliament/2398/wrongful_conviction.html
Information Source 2:	"Freed Prisoner Can Be Retried; Appeals court backs prosecutors in a Santa Barbara slaying, By Tracy Wilson (staff), Los Angeles Times, January 3, 2003, p. B4"
Information Location 2:
Information Source 3:	"IN RE: Efren CRUZ, 129 Cal.Rptr.2d 31, 104 Cal.App.4th 1339 (CA Ct of Appeal, 2nd Dist., Div 6), 1-2-2003"
Information Location 3:	http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1330845.html
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Efren Cruz

Charge:

Second Degree Murder

Sentence:

41 years to life

Years Imprisoned:

4

Year Crime:

1997

Year Convicted:

1997

Year Cleared:

2001

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

California

County or Region of Crime:

Santa Barbara

City of Crime:

Santa Barbara

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Efren Cruz' conviction was vacated in October 2001 based on the new evidence of an Oxnard gang members tape-recorded confession he fired the shots that killed the man in downtown Santa Barbara.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

21

Age When Released:

25

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Hispanic

Information Source 1:

"Man Wrongly Convicted of Murder Sues Prosecutors, by Tracy Wilson, Los Angeles Times, December 13, 2001, B3"

Information Location 1:

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Parliament/2398/wrongful_conviction.html

Information Source 2:

"Freed Prisoner Can Be Retried; Appeals court backs prosecutors in a Santa Barbara slaying, By Tracy Wilson (staff), Los Angeles Times, January 3, 2003, p. B4"

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

"IN RE: Efren CRUZ, 129 Cal.Rptr.2d 31, 104 Cal.App.4th 1339 (CA Ct of Appeal, 2nd Dist., Div 6), 1-2-2003"

Information Location 3:

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1330845.html

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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